The SNP were cock-a-hoop at forcing the Conservatives to drop a planned vote on the issue.

But furious Tories promised revenge by demanding that English Votes for English Laws proposals be strengthened further.

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, who was in London for a business speech yesterday, said the collapse of the fox-hunt vote proved David Cameron was “not master of all he surveys in the House of Commons”.

The SNP reversed their long-standing policy of not voting on English-only matters at Westminster to scupper the fox-hunting plan, which would have taken English law into line with conditions in Scotland.

The Nats changed tack after demands for more Holyrood powers were snubbed in the Scotland Bill – and because they say EVEL plans threaten to make Scottish MPs second-class citizens in the Commons.

Sturgeon said if Cameron had any sense, he would come back with proposals based on fairness and reasonableness that “work in both directions”.

A furious Prime Minister said the SNP were being opportunistic while Labour said the Government were “running scared from defeat”. Angry Tory MPs demanded that plans for English-only votes be strengthened to exclude Scots MPs from interfering in issues like English fox-hunting in future.

The Government published revised proposals for Evel yesterday which clarified that Scottish MPs will continue to be able to vote on budgets.

But the changes do not affect the ability of Scottish MPs to vote on the fox-hunting measures.

Owen Paterson MP, the former Tory environment secretary who had control of the hunting policy in the last government, said Cameron had to strengthen the draft Evel proposals to thwart the SNP.

He said: “It is only a draft – let’s amend the draft. The current arrangements for Evel have to be amended.”

Today, the Government are holding a debate on Evel plans to give English MPs a veto over England-only legislation at Westminster.

Downing Street are expected to revisit the fox-hunting issue in autumn but the SNP could still have a decisive role because Labour and dozens of Tory MPs were also opposed to the change, which would have allowed hunters to flush out foxes using a pack of dogs for the purpose of pest control.

This is currently allowed in Scotland, but there is a limit of two dogs in England.

Combined with SNP votes, the Government would easily have been defeated.

Nicola Sturgeon (Image: Russell Cheyne/Reuters)

The SNP said they will now consider tightening the law in Scotland to match England and Wales.

Maria Eagle, Labour’s shadow environment secretary, said: “David Cameron is now running scared because he knew he was going to lose the vote on fox-hunting.”

Cameron’s spokeswoman said the PM stood by his manifesto promise to “give Parliament the opportunity to repeal the Hunting Act on a free vote, with a Government Bill in Government time”.

Ministers will set out further steps on the postponed proposals for technical changes “in due course”, she said.

Asked how Cameron viewed the SNP’s intervention, the spokeswoman said: “It’s disappointing, but his view is that it is now for Nicola Sturgeon to explain why they are going against their long-standing principle, which she set out very clearly in February this year, of not voting on matters that purely affect England and why they are going against the principle whereby something that is fine for Scotland is not good for England and Wales.”

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